Nowadays, central banks allocate more funds to gold reserves than US Treasuries, depriving them of their status as the world's primary reserve asset. The Financial Times, citing the European Central Bank (ECB), reports that the share of the precious metal in central bank portfolios reached 27% by the end of 2025. Over the year, this figure surged by 7%, while the share of US government debt fell from 25% to 22%. The shift in the international financial architecture and the decline in confidence in US government debt were a direct consequence of geopolitics.

The search for alternatives to the US dollar accelerated sharply after 2022, when the US and EU froze Russia's sovereign reserves. That precedent showed central banks worldwide the risks of holding wealth in fiat currencies abroad. Gold, free from third‑party counterparty risk, became the main defensive instrument amid trade wars. Strong demand from regulators and investors led to a record rally: in 2025 alone, the metal skyrocketed by 65%. This caused a sharp increase in the value of central bank gold holdings on their balance sheets, even without new purchases.

The effect of these tectonic shifts in commodity markets was vividly illustrated by Russia. Since February 2022, EU countries have captured roughly €210 billion ($244 billion) of Russian sovereign assets. However, Russia’s unexpected gains from the revaluation of its own gold reserves reached $216 billion. Those proceeds effectively offset the value of funds frozen in the West. The situation clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of sanctions in the face of a global flight of financial institutions into tangible assets.